Collocated Hosting

Server   collocation is a type of web hosting that gives you an opportunity to  put your  own web server at the locations of a service provider.

 You are  the one who  operates the server. However, it is not situated in your  work place, but in  premises better equipped for this purpose. 

Server  Collocation is suitable for  those who are in possession of server  hardware and require complete control  over server configuration.  Experts are responsible for supplying the user’s  server with fast  internet connection in a secure datacenter, as well as  constant  support.

If you  decide to choose server collocation, you should select a  provider that  possesses their own data center or has a presence in a  top “data hotel”. The  best data centers are situated in big industrial  cities like New   York and London  because they take advantage of the  high network connectivity focused in big  commercial cities.

With  this type of hosting you place you server in modern  collocation premises  providing Internet connection of 100Mbps,  1,000Mbps or 10,000Mbps. 

It is a very  good solution if you demand much  uptime, a sufficient amount of bandwidth and  low costs. You will be  able to control the server remotely while the  collocation facility will  offer a constant 24-hour support. In fact you won’t  be aware that the  server is not in your office. 

Among the most popular servers  providing  access to collocated servers are Terminal Server (Windows 2000/2003   Server) and VNC (Windows, Linux, Unix Servers). 

If we  make a comparison between a collocated server and a dedicated  server we shall  find out that the greatest distinction between them is  who owns the server. 

The  user of a dedicated server is given the right  to use a server. However, it is  owned by a hosting provider. A  collocated server is owned by the user but it is  accommodated somewhere  else together with many other servers. So, with a dedicated  server you  hire the server itself, whereas with a collocated server you hire  the  place to house it. Thus, server collocation saves you the expenses to   operate a dedicated line to your site. 

Among  the best features of a collocated server is that the person  or the company  possesses the server and has constant and complete  access to it. The server is  accommodated in a safe place with reliable  power supply and fast internet  connectivity. 

You can operate the server  from a different place.  Simultaneously, you will save the space in  your office or home that will be  necessary to accommodate the server.  You will share the expenses with the other  servers located in the same  place. 

The greatest flaw of this type of hosting is  that you have to  cope with all necessary repairs and maintenance.

Since  air cooling in a Collocated environment is an important  issue, it is better to  choose a rack optimized server. You  should also  have some knowledge about the chipset construction of your   motherboard. 

Integration of sensors should be taken into account as  well. Thus,  you will be able to scrutinize your CPU and motherboard and  graph it through  MRTG.

You need  not bother about power failures. Server collocation  centers have onsite diesel  generators serving as reserve power supply. 

This will provide all servers with  uninterrupted power supply and they  will keep working constantly even in cases  of long-term power failures.  You also get high speed connectivity thanks to the  numerous  connections of the service provider. It is possible to connect   additional servers to the main one as well. 

 

Server  collocators are experts in solving all the problems that may  occur with your  server. They monitor the work of the servers all the  time. Greatest attention  is paid to security issues. 

They are among the  obligations of the server  collocation providers. Constant protection  is provided via electronic access  security and security guards.  

Like the  other types of hosting server collocation has its  upholders and opponents. Although, at first sight it may not seem a   very attractive alternative to put your own server somewhere else, if  one looks  deeper into the issue it may turn out to be a convenient and  cost-efficient  solution. 